Maxine by Carol D. Mitchell - Makes Readers Laugh, Cry, and Wanting More... Best of Mitchell's Best!

 How did I get so lucky to find my rib in you?

Find out who said this?

Chile, you ain't never gonna call Glenda a gossip evah again! Who're ya to speak nasty words just because I'm a hateful person... But have I hated on you, girl? No! I just hated on my daughter's choice of men... Can I be at fault when sayin' "I told ya so!" to her at least a hundred times a day since they been hitched? Ya know what, I just can't stand the man who lies about always working for the good of mankind? Yep, that's what I said, mankind! "Cause he never did care about women, even when my angel ran after him all those years ago, yappin' about marrying him someday... I tell you, I ain't no gossip just cause I repeat what that blond racist pig said about grabbin' women anywhichway he wants...Heck chile, my Angel hasn't been grabbed anywhere since that doctor started worrying about his patients and the poor and the corporation leaders who don't pay no taxes like we poor folk... No wonder she went out to become one of those "LA Women Married to Doctors," turnin' to clothes, jewels and all things costin' big bucks since he decided to spend all his time with those drunks brought in after knife 'n gun fights... Now that ain't gossip, chile, that's honest truth with a small "t" cause I save the big "T"when I yak about what that boss of mine says about anybody and everybody... He's the biggest liar of Truth I ever seen, ya betcha! 

And chile, don't pretend I ain't the narrator of your story, as well as a worried mother wantin' her chile to have her cake and eat it too, even if she chose not to get preggers as long as she wasn't gettin' much of anythin' except lots of money to soften her burden... Do you know anybody better to break in on a tender moment or a catfight with a little nonsense and gossip, oops...not gossip, but merely disinfo! as I've learned to say speaking of the orange man...

~~~

I have to add a note...I so enjoyed Carol's reference to "me" Glenda as someone Madea-like that I just had to share the above...of course talking about the book, but as Glenda the gossip... I have to admit, that I enjoyed getting into the character...LOL Have you every become a different character than the one you are? Hope you enjoyed my Madea...

(Fitting In Carol's, and a few of mine, playlist as breaks)

Some of you may remember the book/movie Love Story. If you do, you may feel that same emotional pull of the story as Maxine meets her soulmate... But that will not be the whole plot readers will find in Maxine by Carol D. Mitchell... I read this book in one sitting and quickly added it to my personal favorites for 2024--and it has little to do with the fact that my name was included in the book. LOL... Well, maybe it helped... I've been reading Mitchell's books since her first...do take the time to do a search for reviews on her other books...

For, you see, as you will learn from the beginning of this post, Glenda is describe as Madea-like and a gossip about anybody she dislikes... And that includes her daughter's husband...and anybody else that gets in her way... By the way, included in this book is a narrator who sets the upcoming scene for readers... It, too, is often humorous, so enjoy a sample below...

Okay, y’all fasten your seatbelts reason being it’s about to hit the fan with Doctor Brad Montgomery and his ride-or-die Angela. If dreams are made in heaven, this marriage was made in hell. Let me give you a jump start on their past, then, honey, we will be there for the landing! Check this out. 

She was the girl he grew up with in Hunters Point who was supposed to make a difference for a conservative good guy like Doctor Brad Montgomery, but after a decade of marriage, she turned out to be a bitch from hell. Angela’s mama did not like the idea of her marrying a medical doctor who spent hours upon hours in the hospital emergency room. When they were kids, Angela’s mother, Glenda, set the two of them up for marriage before they were in grammar school. “Angela, Richard’s fast. But Brad’s sneaky. He’s the quiet type, the worse kind you should set your sight on but he’s going to do something great one day, and raise you out this Hood” she said. Sure enough, from junior high to high school, Brad only dated Angela. From the time they were younguns holding hands at the shipyards, they were always cool until they married, and, honey, that’s when all hell broke loose. 

For two-decades, ole nosey Glenda held nothing back when Angela began having problems in her marriage with Board-certified Doctor Brad Montgomery. “I  told you before the wedding that man was too cerebral for you Angela, but your ass don’t listen to nobody,” her mother said. The former Hunter’s Point gossip made good when she traded one husband in for another, got a job with the state, and moved out of the Hood to a swank four-bedroom home in Concord, California. 

Now, Glenda, who ran two of her adult children out of state, sat out to ruin her daughter’s marriage. “Mama, we have known each other too long since grade school. I never knew if I married him he would close up on me like this and never be home,” Angela yelled to her mother. “Ten years is a long time to be married to somebody Angela. When he was in medical school, you stuck to that man like glue, only to realize that person wasn’t right for you. I have never seen you so unhappy. You planned your whole life around being with that one man. You know what you have to do. I have been hearing about how unhappy you are, and I am tired of hearing about it now. You flew to Clovis to live with him while he was in medical school, because all you wanted to be was a doctor’s wife. Now, you can’t stand him. I honestly believe you should leave this doctor and marry a regular person who has time to be there for you. Anyone who is smart and returns to medical school after fifteen years of schooling to do two more years for a specialty is crazy. Doctor Brad Montgomery has a few screws missing in the brain,” Angela’s mother said.

~~~

 

Chile, that session at Glenda’s house in Concord got so hot, Glenda called a divorce attorney. Now, Angela was going to take all this shit home to an  unsuspecting husband who despised her mama! You don’t want to miss this! Because honey, this is the last straw for Angela Montgomery. 

~~~

The Good doctor has had enough! “Mama, that’s not what you said in Hunter’s Point, when he saved Richard from being a drug addict like his mom. 

“Oohee. Ain’t we glad that boy was at the  Montgomery’s house when his mama died on them drugs,” you said. Brad was quiet then; he’s quiet now, and a lot of it has to do with how much his parents fought when he was a kid. Cops at his house every night? It ran that child crazy. I do believe Angela, one day all of that is going to take a dangerous toll on Brad,” said Glenda. “Mama that’s his personality. He keeps things inside. I love him, mama. Giving him divorce papers from your attorney is going to be so hard to do, considering he’s the man responsible for all my firsts in life. I thought he was the one. To have been friends all of our lives and then to be in this marriage feeling empty, I am afraid of what the future holds for me,” Angela ended. “Baby, I am more afraid of what the future holds for him,” ended Glenda...

~~~

Three children had grown up together. Two boys and Angela... The boys were Brad and Richard who were close friends even if they were almost the opposite in personalities... Brad and Angela had started dating and carried their relationship through to marriage...

When Richard's mother died from an overdose, his uncle decided to bring him to live with him and, as that rich uncle in the family, had offered to include his friend Brad as well. Both boys were so excited. They had both decided that they wanted to become doctors and when the uncle learned this, he agreed to financially support both of them... Years passed both were now working at the same hospital, still close friends... Only one difference...

While Brad had always been a one-woman kind of man, Richard was a player, which was quite easy to be, of course. When a good-looking man also is a doctor, there were many ladies (and mothers) who thought marriage to him would be great... But there was only one thing that Richard looked for--hittin' that bod...and another one, and then one more... and even Maxine's girlfriend! Which is a no-no, right?!

But Richard held a secret deep within him, he was falling in love with Maxine. Richard and Maxine had become friends when his uncle helped Maxine get started in a cosmetics enterprise. She worked hard and made it big, making even more money than either Brad or Richard as doctors... The thing is that Maxine has been such a close friend while they were working to get her started, that she also quickly realized that Richard liked having many women and felt little need to settle down... So, whenever Richard had tried to make a play, she would laugh and let him know that she just would remain his best friend...

In the meantime, Brad's wife, Angela, had divorced him and was already remarried with two kids... So Brad and Richard got together after work since he was single now and enjoyed watching all the ladies who called out or walked by the most attractive and eligible doctors around... Until the time Richard decided he would be noble and see if Maxine might be interested in meeting Brad...

You know folks, every time that something becomes a problem, it seems that it is because there is such an inability for many of us to say exactly what needs to be said...until it is too late... And that is what happens in this extraordinary book that will both shock you as well as teach you so much about just how people don't really know how to say what they need to say...

On the other hand, Maxine has found her soulmate, but which one is it--Brad or Richard... because there's a lot more happening in this book and tragedy is a major part, along with an everlasting love story... and Maxine has fallen in love...forever... Wow! If you love to cry along with a fantastic love story, also enjoy situational humor, surprises and a narrator who won't stop till Madea holds her hand over her mouth... This is a very special and memorable book and I highly recommend you check it out!

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